I have always struggled with what to make for dinner, but who doesn’t. I open the fridge and it’s a big blur. If I don’t already have in mind what to make, then it is the first thing that I can grab, like eggs, hot dogs, mac n cheese, grilled cheeses, tuna, and cereal – those are the staple “fast home food” around my house.

So I sat down and made a master meal list. It is all the meals that I have ever made in the past and we all gave each meal a rating from 1-10. This will help me know if it could/should be made again.

I also made a weekly meal list that gets placed on the fridge. I write down 6-7 meals that sound good to make or are something I feel like I could make that week. I started by assigning those meals on the list a certain day of the week to make them, but then I felt tied to it and what if I didn’t feel like making chicken that day?! So my list is free, free to pick which ever one I think I can make that day. Then I make a grocery list and go buy all the ingredients for those 6-7 meals. So now that I have all the ingredients for the week, I really have no excuses for not cooking. It is all there. With those meals that are planned, they usually take me 2 weeks to get through. Those other staple meals get plugged in and we go out too.

On the weekly meal list, there are always a few favorites, one new meal to try out, a breakfast meal for dinner, and a sandwich. Lots of variety. I try to add what side items would go with that meal too.

Have fun making Dinner, or if is not fun, have fun ordering take out! What meals are your favorites? Share them on a comment here!

Marie

Marie is founder and managing editor of Make and Takes, and author of the book, Make and Takes for Kids. There’s always a project going on at her house and is often cluttered with crafts, glitter, and glue. When she’s not crafting and creating with her kids, she loves to run, read, and blog! Follow her on Twitter and Google+.